Maputo, Sept. 25, 2025 (Lusa) - More than 3,600 people fled in four days from two districts of Cabo Delgado due to the upsurge in terrorist attacks in that northern province of Mozambique, according to figures released today by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
According to a field report by the UN agency, "between 19 and 22 September 2025, the escalation of attacks and the insecurity caused by armed groups" in Cabo Delgado "triggered new displacements in the districts of Balama and Mocímboa da Praia".
It adds that an attack in the village of Monapo, Mavala post, Balama district, on 19 September, "forced 2,121 people to flee to the town of Ntete", in the same district.
Also during this period, new incidents in Mocímboa da Praia, particularly in the 30 de Junho and Felipe Nyusi neighbourhoods, displaced 1,185 people, "with the majority seeking safety in the Mueda district".
"Food, shelter, and protection services were reported as the most urgent needs," reads the report, which totalled 3,607 displaced people over the four days, equivalent to 831 families, including 44 pregnant women and 71 elderly people.
The people of Intutupue, Ancuabe, and Impiri, Metuge, in Cabo Delgado, today reported moments of panic as armed groups of suspected terrorists passed through their communities.
According to local sources, the movement began at around 07:00 (06:00 Lisbon time) on Wednesday, when a group of men wielding machetes and other weapons crossed National Road 1 (N1), on the border between Intutupue, Ancuabe and Impiri, Metuge, into the district of Chiúre, creating despair among the residents, who abandoned their homes fearing these groups that have been operating in Cabo Delgado, a gas-rich province, since 2017.
At the end of July, attacks by terrorist groups in the south of Cabo Delgado province had already caused more than 57,000 displaced people in Chiúre district, according to previous official figures.
Cabo Delgado province has seen an upsurge in attacks by rebel groups since July, targeting the districts of Chiúre, Muidumbe, Quissanga, Ancuabe, Meluco, and most recently Mocímboa da Praia, with several deaths reported.
In 2024 alone, at least 349 people died in attacks in northern Mozambique, most of them claimed by the extremist group Islamic State, an increase of 36% on the previous year, according to a study released by the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies (ACSS), an academic institution of the US government's Department of Defence.
PVJ/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
